The prior art is documented with examples of cooking devices or techniques for cooking an ear of corn. The most simplest of which is to wrap the ear of corn within a sheet of tin foil and to place the corn within or in proximity to a source of heat, such as a grill or fire. This can also include placing the individual ears of corn (with or without the foil covering) upon a grated, rack or tier positioned above the heat source.
Other attempts have been made in the art to provide for steam cooking of edibles such as vegetables. One such example is the steam cooking utensil of L. D. Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 345,307 and which provides a steam cooker placed upon a pot and including an open bottom for enabling steam cooking of water contained within the pot and vaporized by the heat source.
Another prior art reference of note is the cooking utensil of Lee, U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,486 which teaches a perforated inner pan which nests completely within an outer non-perforated open top pan. A cover encloses the opening of the outer pan and contains the inner pan. The opposed ends of the perforated pan are hinged so as to open flat in the plane of the pan's bottom, with handles on the hinged ends providing manipulation of the inner pan without opening.
Finally, WO 2008/155115, to Harkin, teaches a cooking utensil having a vessel for holding a volume of boiling water and a removable holder for retaining a plurality of food items, the removable holder being locatable within the vessel and including a locating means for locating the food items therein to prevent them for coming into contact with a base of the vessel. The removable holder further includes a lifting means permitting the removal of the removable food holder and its contents from the vessel.